Note Book 10 Page 18-22

My moments of peaceful thought seem few and far between these days. When I woke up in the Monarch Linn this morning, it was almost too quiet for words. The many Puk that slept near me that night were gone, the only sounds seemed to come from the small waterfalls in the area and from Bahamut, who seemed restless. I suddenly heard the voice of Kreoss on the opposite side of the Linn. Behind him was Caenir, who seemed very uneasy.

I called out to Kreoss and Caenir, questioning why they where there. Caenir heard me but I was ignored by Kreoss, who was busy with Mai and Bahamut's shouts. Bahamut had become enraged at the presence of a Zilart in his domain, and threatened to kill him. Kreoss kept the same icy tone he always has, drawing his great katana, and saying that he would kill Bahamut to stop Alberic's rampage. Caenir seemed to be trying to hold Kreoss back from fighting and I called out to him, telling him not to kill him, though my words fell on deaf ears.

I grabbed my bag off the ground and started moving slightly closer to the others while Kreoss told of what he knew. I reached into my bag, looking for my mace and shield in case a fight started, shouting at Kreoss to listen to Bahamut. For an instant I thought he had heard me, he put away his katana. But to my horror, he drew his bow and fired a single shot, piercing Bahamut's heart.

Time felt to have slowed down from the moment arrow was released. Bahamut had his arms spread to protect Mai when the arrow struck. He staggered a moment before falling back, Mai catching him in her arms close to the ground. I rushed over and knelt by his side, immediately preparing a healing spell to try and remove the arrow and make the immense bleeding stop. But he grabbed me by the front of my briault, jerking me closer with his quickly draining strength, and leaned up just enough to whisper these words in my ear. "You bear the vessel..." With that, he let go, falling back, his body flickered and disappeared into many small lights.

I fell foward onto my palms where Bahamut was moments ago. I repeated the words quietly to myself before I looked up at Kreoss, my eyes blurred with tears. I can honestly say, I have never felt hatred towards anyone before. But for that instant, I hated Kreoss. I hated every fiber of his being. That rage slowly began fading to sorrow... I stood up, clutching my bag close to my chest, and watched my own tears falling to the ground. I could hear Mai, her screams of unbridled fury as she charged, the sound of fist hitting armor, and the bones behind that armor shattering. My mind suddenly snapped back to the realization of what had just happened, time feeling normal again, hearing the sound of a familiar black magic spell being chanted.

Caenir was attempting to warp Kreoss away. Mai's attention suddenly switched to him. I panicked and cast Flash on Mai in attempt to blind her as Kreoss threw himself between her and Caenir, taking further punishment before disappearing with the black magic spell. With Kreoss gone, Mai took several more swings at Caenir as he attempted to warp himself out of there. From where I stood I couldn't tell if she hit him, but I hope she didn't. Caenir was gone in the flash of a black vortex, Mai dropped to her knees, and began furiously beating at the rock beneath her. I ran closer to her, telling her that I thought we could still save Alberic. Her response was a wild swing in my direction and yelling at me to shut up.

I stumbled back avoiding the punch, but fell down into the grass, dropping my bag. I scrambled to pick it back up in case I needed to quickly teleport out of there, but then noticed an odd noise coming from inside it. I opened it to find the wrapped up magicite resonating and vibrating slightly. I picked it up, the sound growing louder, it felt very warm even through its leather bindings. I found myself repeating the words Bahamut told me again. "I bear the vessel..." It now somehow felt alive. I thought for a moment, then realized that now, a soul rested inside it.

I turned to Mai, who now lay on her back, telling her. But she just turned her head and stared at me, a look of blood lust and agony still lingered slightly in her stare. Frightened for a moment, I told Mai to compose herself. She dropped her head back onto the rocks, beginning to wallow in her sorrow. I could feel the presence of the Puk surrounding me once again. They sniffed and stared at the magicite I held. One of them nudged my hand slightly, I looked down and asked which soul was now in the magicite. It told me that it was the Lord of Dragons himself.

I tried one last time to approach Mai, telling her that Bahamut was now trapped inside the magicite. She seemed slightly calmer now and expressed her disbelief. I held it out to her so she could see it. She asked how we could get him out. Alberic had only told me to throw it to use it, so we assumed that is what we will have to do. Mai attempted to touch the magicite then, but it appeared to force her hand away. Mai stared at her hand, seemingly confused, then went to the back of the Linn and lay down in the nest she had slept in the night before.

I turned to the Puk, asking them if they could assist us in getting back the true wyrm king and Alberic. But they told me that they were frightened of Alberic. I understood how scared they felt and assured them that that didn't have to fight. Before leaving, I asked Mai if she wanted a teleport out of the area, but she decided that she wanted to stay a bit longer. So I carefully placed the magicite back in my bag and teleported myself to the crag of Mea.

I write this quickly at the crag before I make my way to Windurst. I hope for the safety of Caenir and that Kreoss is within sight of others who can tend to his wounds. Though I felt that spark of rage against him for that moment, I do not wish him harm or death... I hope he recovers quickly. I also hope that Mai can cope with all this mental anguish she has been going through these past few days... Though I'm not sure if that can be done.